gas news stories on Newser

Sand Mining Craze Stirs Up Health Fears

Neal Colgrass — Mon, 14 May 2012 18:56:21 CDT

The upper Midwest is home to the latest craze in American mining: sand. Mining companies are knocking on doors in Wisconsin, Minnesota, and nearby states to dig up tons of the stuff so oil and gas producers can inject it into the ground in a process known as fracking. Sand...

Iran Tensions Could Mean $5 Gas

Kevin Spak — Thu, 01 Mar 2012 08:57:12 CST

Going to war with Iran would be an expensive proposition for America's drivers. Tensions over the country's nuclear ambitions have already pushed crude oil prices up 20% to a record winter high, energy experts tell the New York Times . That's translated to an average $3.73 per gallon at pumps...

Scientists Spot Gas Clouds That Seeded All Life

Neal Colgrass — Sat, 12 Nov 2011 16:14:00 CST

Astronomers have caught a first-ever glimpse of gas clouds as they existed just a few minutes after the big bang, the Los Angeles Time s reports. These clouds—long gone by now, but still visible to us—contain lighter elements like hydrogen and helium, which condensed into stars during the...

Gas Grills Are Un-American

Evann Gastaldo — Sun, 29 May 2011 12:15:00 CDT

Gas grilling isn’t just lazy: “It's nihilism in a tank, and it has to stop now,” writes Josh Ozersky in a passionate ode to charcoal grilling. His effusive Time column rhapsodizes about coal, elevating it to the level of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness (“It shouldn't require an...

Israel's Natural-Gas Find Is Biggest in 10 Years

Nick McMaster — Thu, 30 Dec 2010 18:01:52 CST

Discovery of a massive field of natural gas off the coast of Israel could transform the Jewish state's economy and even alter the balance of power in the Middle East, the Wall Street Journal reports. Houston-based Noble Energy confirmed yesterday that the so-called Leviathan field has 16 trillion cubic feet...

Gas Fumes May Pump Up Road Rage

Jane Yager — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 05:24:35 CST

If filling the gas tank fills you with rage, it might be the fumes you're breathing, not the prices you're paying. A new study shows rats exposed to gasoline fumes became more aggressive, with repeated exposure altering their brain structures—a finding that could also apply to humans and road...

Sand May Be 5th State of Matter: Study

Harry Kimball — Wed, 24 Jun 2009 16:02:02 CDT

Sand exhibits so many unexplainable physical properties that some think granularity is a form of matter unto itself, Wired reports. Granular matter acts like a solid, a liquid, or a gas depending on the circumstance. “You walk on the beach, and the sand supports your weight,” said physicist Heinrich Jaeger....

Dairy Farmers Switch Feed to Curb Burps

Drew Nelles — Sun, 21 Jun 2009 15:01:51 CDT

Vermont dairy farmers are changing their cows’ diets in an effort to fight climate change, the AP reports. Milk production accounts for 2% of the country’s greenhouse gases, the vast majority of which comes from the methane-rich burps of cattle. Now, 16 farms working with Stonyfield Farm Inc. are feeding...

Afghan Schoolgirls Sickened in 3rd Gas Attack

Ambreen Ali — Tue, 12 May 2009 12:17:42 CDT

Nearly 100 girls and six teachers are hospitalized in Afghanistan after an apparent gas attack on their school, the third such incident in the region recently. Five girls slipped briefly into a coma, but all are safely recovering after a poisoning that was likely the work of Taliban supporters who...